Sunday, November 01, 2009

Roeburn River Sculptures

Here is a little footage of the Wych Elm Circle, Equilibrium Stack and the Autumn Beech Water Box all made at a particularly beautiful spot on the River Roeburn. I am showing you this by way of contrast to Part 2 of this film taken when we visited the River today. The change from gentle and idyllic to raging torrent takes the breath away, it's thrilling how one night of rain on saturated ground can change a river's character so fundamentally.

Part 2 is below.

Oh and for Halloween fans. Look out for the Blair Witch remake - answers on a postcard for the chance to win a prize.

The weather is just a little too wet and wild today to really chance on trying to make something so instead we went down to Roeburndale to see what state the plentiful rain had left the river in and to see what Land Art Mother Nature could conjure up without our intervention.

We went past the River Lune at Caton on the way and it was high. I've seen it higher a year ago and then, by the two bridges, it was absolutely raging and I took some epic film footage. I spent quite a few hours trying to track down those clips on Friday but I think I might have deleted them. I was hoping that the Roeburn in spate would make up for it.

I wasn't disappointed.

Spider Earthquake was the least of their worries, instead it was biblical flood.

The place where we had made sculptures both sides of the river was now a raging torrent and the Equilibrium Stack was long gone. We could hear not only the power through the sound of the rushing water but could hear the thunks of rolling boulders too.

With the majesty of the river and the strong winds bringing down a procession of beautiful leaves that carpeted the ground like a rainbow of sweetie wrappers, it was hard to ever imagine how one could beat or even match the power and beauty of nature. My humble dabbles are just that in the face of such things.

I wonder if the kayakers we saw upstream of that section were brave enough to shoot through that place.

On the way home as we returned past the Lune again she had burst her banks and now filled the flood plain. The first of November has certainly brought changes just like the first of October did.

It's from about 45 seconds where you can see the place where Part 1 was filmed.

2 comments:

EmandaJ said...

Hello Richard,

Oh, the incredible power of nature! Beautiful films. Love the little nod to Blair Witch.

Emanda
(What do I win -- A book?!!)

Richard Shilling said...

Thank you Emanda. I did have a prize ready but that ghost from the film has taken it into the spirit world!